Cram, Donald James

Cram, Donald James, 1919–2001, American chemist, b. Chester, Vt., Ph.D. Harvard, 1947. A professor at the Univ. of California at Los Angeles, Cram expanded on the work of Charles J. Pedersen by synthesizing three-dimensional molecules that could mimic the functioning of natural molecules. With Pedersen and Jean-Marie Lehn, Cram was awarded the 1987 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the development and application of molecules with highly selective, structure specific interactions, i.e., molecules that can “recognize” each other and choose which other molecules they will form complexes with.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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